


here we are (so what do we do now?)

by SapphireOcean (JujYFru1T)



Series: Entanglement [1]
Category: The Aftermath (2019)
Genre: Alternate Ending, F/M, Implied Relationships, Long Live Feedback Comment Project, Multi, Pre-Poly, Pre-Slash, The Author Regrets Nothing, in which the author ignores everything to ship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-30 16:16:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19406869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JujYFru1T/pseuds/SapphireOcean
Summary: At the train station, Rachael wavers.





	here we are (so what do we do now?)

**Author's Note:**

> Me, tagging for a new fandom? It's more likely than you think.  
> I knew back when I saw the trailer my damn brain would poly the hell outta this movie regardless of what happened, but I didn't expect I'd actually write a thing....... Anyway, here's a late night alternate-ending dooble. Title taken from Imogen Heap's Entanglement and Frou Frou's Psychobabble (Immi again).  
> 

Stephen's hand around hers should be a comfort. Instead it's beginning to feel like a cage, at odds with the ache of want in her heart.

They come to a stop on the platform. Stephen releases her hand, bending down to exchange words with Freda. They're both smiling, Freda more shyly.

She can almost see the wall her mind is constructing between them. Already she's leaning away, her body at an angle to the platform, even as she strains for a glimpse of the train cutting through fog.

She wonders if Lewis has found Richard's sweater yet.

Stephen straightens up and turns to her, and his leftover smile at his daughter begins to falter.

She's never been good at hiding her emotions.

Whatever he sees brings panic to his eyes and he strides toward her. "No," he says, with desperate repetition, hands moving to cradle her face. "You're coming with me. Right? This is what you _wanted._ " His eyes beg her to remember, as if she could ever forget. "To start over."

"I do." Her heart thumps confusedly. She puts a hand to his cheek and says again, more firmly, "I _do._ " She is close enough to kiss him, and she wants to, but a voice in her head is screaming to go back to Lewis _now_. She lets herself be drawn in, millimeters away, lets his breath fan over her lips

and then pulls back.

The crack in Stephen's heart is clear in his eyes.

"Forgive me," she says, taking a step back.

She still loves him. The thought bring tears, and she turns before he can see them, and steels herself to walk away.

"Wait! Wait."

Everything in her freezes at that voice.

Lewis is running through the crowd. He's there, on the platform, reaching for her.

He comes to a stop within arm's length, both hands on his knees as he fights for breath. "Please. Don't leave. You don't have to."

"You're here," she says, and something keeps her from touching him.

"Rachael..."

The riot of emotions Lewis puts into her name are like magnets, like electrical shocks. She looks back at Stephen, at the confused lines around his eyes, and prepares to say goodbye.

Freda stands by her father, watching carefully.

Rachael speaks to her. "I'm so sor--"

"Neither does he." Back to Lewis, his gaze open in a way that constricts her chest. "You could... you can stay with him as well."

"What?" She laughs, not knowing what else to do. "Lewis, what are you saying?"

The train horn sounds distantly. 

"I don't know!" he says, throwing his arms up. "All I know is that I can't lose you, and I want you to be happy. So I'm-- I'm willing to let you have him, still, if-- if he's--" The words clip off, his face reddening.

"You still want to stay with your husband," Stephen says, tone neutral.

"Yes." The word drags out of her. "But... I still want-- oh!" she cries, whirling between them. "I'm supposed to _choose_ , aren't I? I can't-- this isn't--" Her own words are locked up and thank goodness for it; she can taste something forbidden behind them.

And yet, somehow, Lewis pulls them out. He grabs her arm (when had he stepped close?) and says in a harsh whisper, "I'm not ready for him to leave either."

The shock she feels must be plain on her face, because he says, "Think what you will about it, just please _come home._ "

She stares at Stephen, who stares back. The furrows in his forehead have lightened.

"Will you?" she breathes. "Come back? It's so much to ask--"

The dim light in his eyes must be her imagination; surely he'll refuse.

"We can purchase more train tickets another time," he says, then looks at Freda and speaks rapidly.

She's picked up more German since she arrived, but they speak softly and the train's coming closer; she can make out "home" and "again" but that's all.Freda nods.

Finally, finally, he looks back at her. His shoulders rise with his inhale (her own breath has stopped). His voice is drowned out by the train, but she can read his lips.

"We will try."

Something inside her lifts, something else crumbles, and she nods fiercely enough to become dizzy. "All right," she says, voice too shaky. She says it again, louder over the train. "Let's try, then."

The train squeals to a stop. She's the first to start walking. 

Lewis and Stephen catch up to her on either side, both carrying a piece of luggage, somehow keeping the proper distance from her. She can't look at them. Not yet.

"Rachael?"

But she can look at Freda.

Carrying her own luggage, she's holding out a silver case with her free hand-- _the_ silver case. Lewis's, though Rachael has begun to think of it as hers too.

She takes it and opens it with trembling fingers. The pictures are still there, but the one with Lewis has cigarette burns through his face. Richard's is unmarred. A lump rises in her throat.

"Thank you," she says, at the same time Freda says "I'm sorry" to both her and Lewis.

"It's all right," they both answer.

She glances at him. He gives the barest of nods.

"Thank you, for giving it back. And for protecting the photographs," she says.

Freda glances at Stephen before offering an unsure smile. Then she steps between him and Rachael and puts a hand on her arm.

"Let me," Rachael says then, and takes a case from Stephen's hand.

She reaches for Lewis's hand with the other. He takes it, tightly.

Stephen's hand brushes the small of her back.

Rachael exhales. Her eyes catch Stephen's, and she doesn't try to hide her emotions this time.

His hand settles firmly. The light she wasn't sure was real is now unmistakable.

She looks straight ahead, the noise of the station slowly growing quiet.

From the corner of her eye, she sees Lewis wearing a half smile. She's not bold enough to look fully, to know for sure if that smile is directed at them both.

There will be time.

Together, they make their way back home.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of the [LLF Comment Project](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject), which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. I invite and appreciate feedback, including:
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Keyboardmash and emojistorm comments
>   * Questions
>   * Prompts
>   * Image reactions
>   * Constructive criticism
>   * "<3" as extra kudos
>   * Reader-reader interaction
> 

> 
> I also reply to comments. But if you’d rather not receive a reply for any reason, sign your comment with “whisper” and I’ll just squee to myself about it. ^_^  
> Want/need help with something to write? [Find the LLF Comment Builder here!](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/post/170952243543/now-presenting-the-llf-comment-builder-beta)


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